Speechifyin'!
Holy crap, Obama's speech on Race and America was simply amazing.
Apart from being amazingly written and delivered, it felt like it really challenged an important and difficult issue in America, presented the concerns of multiple sides well and in a unifying fashion, and laid out a path to dealing with these issues. It had the hope and promise of change that is his hallmark, but it dealt with issues in a way that was more mature and down-to-earth than many of his critics would have expected.
For a politician whose safest move would be to give a bland "Racism is bad, America is awesome!" stump speech, it was damned ballsy of him to go up and say the thing so many people would rather whitewash over: "Yes, America has race problems. Here they are." And he pulled it off.
Call me cheesy if you wish, but that combination of eloquence, unification, hope, maturity, and bravery is exactly what I'd want in a leader.
Click to viewApart from being amazingly written and delivered, it felt like it really challenged an important and difficult issue in America, presented the concerns of multiple sides well and in a unifying fashion, and laid out a path to dealing with these issues. It had the hope and promise of change that is his hallmark, but it dealt with issues in a way that was more mature and down-to-earth than many of his critics would have expected.
For a politician whose safest move would be to give a bland "Racism is bad, America is awesome!" stump speech, it was damned ballsy of him to go up and say the thing so many people would rather whitewash over: "Yes, America has race problems. Here they are." And he pulled it off.
Call me cheesy if you wish, but that combination of eloquence, unification, hope, maturity, and bravery is exactly what I'd want in a leader.